The nakedness of politics posing as art

Prime Minister Stephen Harper in all the glory of his ‘artistic’ birthday suit greeted the Internet world early this morning before being replanted down copy on the cover of The Blaze.

Emperor Haute Couture, with its graphic male plumbing reached the pinnacle of publicity. The painting, for which Harper never posed, was “motivated” by the political frustration of Kingston, Ont. artist Margaret Sutherland. Proof on canvas that everything about the left, from its staged protests to the art of frustration, is 100% manufactured. The painting, which leaves its artist “disappointed” when it has to be covered with a cloth by the Kingston Library when children are about, depicts Canada’s prime minister reclining on a chaise lounge, in the raw.

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“Sutherland says the painting was motivated by her frustrations with the government and is meant to show that people need to look at issues for themselves without always believing the party line.” (The Blaze, May 22, 2012). How viewing Harper in the artist’s imaginary birthday suit accomplishes her political goal of having folk looking at issues for themselves without always believing the party line is a stretch. “If you look at my website, you can see that every few years, I follow Rembrandt’s example and when I don’t know what to paint or am short of a model, I paint myself. I’m an exceedingly patient, professional and cheap model,” Sutherland told Star Portraits in an interview. But you can’t see anything when you look at Sutherland’s website, which has been taken down, and her email address is maggiethered@contact privacy.com. (The Way Back Machine shows what the site looked like in February of 2011). There was nothing private about Stephen Harper’s imaginary private parts when Sutherland took to her canvas. It must have been a slow Spring day, when a painting submitted to the Kingston Arts Council's 11th Annual Juried Art Salon by Kingston-based artist Margaret Sutherland, was priced at $5,000. The painting is on display in the Wilson Room of the Kingston Frontenac Public Library's central branch, where it will remain for all to see until May 29. We leave it to the art critics to fathom whether Sutherland’s description of her painting as a “modern take on Edouard Manet's 1863 painting, Olympia” is more than sheer arrogance. “Not knowing what was headed their way before the painting arrived, the library had a difficult decision on what to do with the 'Emperor', said Patricia Enright, chief librarian.” (Kingston Whig Standard, May 17, 2012). “Not because it was Stephen Harper, but the fact that it was a nude. “Enright explained that the room is used for meetings and other events including children's recitals. “When the ‘Emperor Haute Couture’ went up, we also had quite a few bookings with children’s recitals during the same month," she said. "And so the library in terms of looking at the policy had also said that the library retains the right to determine the suitability of any proposed exhibit, and they must be reviewed within a context of the public space and its users." The library then contacted the KAC and explained their conundrum. Enright said the programmer spoke with Sutherland to explain they would take down the painting when programs with children were being held in the room. However, comments posted by Sutherland on the blog Kingstonist said she was “disappointed” by the library's decision to remove the painting. “There were some concerns about moving it, so Maggie, the artist, brought in a cloth. So we’ve been covering it just during those times," Enright said. "As I said the rest of the times there is a sign saying it is the library board who made that decision to do that in consultation with the Kingston Arts Council.” It's not the first time there have been reservations voiced about artwork on display at the library. Enright said that last June some parents had expressed concern about some of the nude artwork displayed in an exhibition. “Parents were concerned about what was on the walls, and that kind of started off the process of the board looking at their policy on the use of library space for art exhibitions," Enright said. "And so it was trying to balance the needs of many stakeholders in terms of the room. And yes, while we do support kind of intellectual freedom, we were also kind of in a very difficult position because of the multi-use of the room." Municipal employees can often be in the sort of “kind-of” category. It seems that everyone, including South Park in absentia has a say on Maggie the Red’s rude painting. According to the Blaze, “Ineffective piece of art? Definitely. But in the words of South Park, “what do you expect? They’re Canadian.” But feminism is more global than Canadian and the feminist’s mantra “Keep your laws off my body”; “My body, my right” doesn’t apply to Canadian prime ministers. Meanwhile, it is not Prime Minister Stephen Harper who is left hanging out there in the raw.